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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
The Fables are about to be written out of existence. The creator of all of the Fables, Kevin Thorn, feels that his world has developed beyond his control, so he's decided to scrap it all and start anew. Snow White, Bigby Wolf, and Jack of Tales are determined to stand in his way, but how will they stand up against his army of Literals, individuals that are complete embodiments of a particular literary genre?
The Great Fables Crossover is a crossover event between Fables, Jack of Fables and a three issue mini series called The Literals. The book is very stand alone. You don't have to be fully familiar with Fables, or Jack of Fables to understand it, and it contributes very little to the current Fables storyline. I've read elsewhere that you can actually skip over this volume, and just move onto the next without really missing anything. Unless you're a completist like me, I would suggest taking that path. Despite some really nice artwork, The Great Fables Crossover never delivers on it's admittedly interesting premise.
The Great Fables Crossover abandons the dramatic, character focused storylines of Fables for a fast paced, metaficional comedy. Unfortunately, most of the jokes fall flat to me, resulting in a disappointing read. I feel like there were a lot of things that I should have enjoyed about this graphic novel but they never really came together in a satisfying way. For example, it was nice to see Snow and Bigby leave the cubs at home and throw themselves back into the action for a little while, but their presence in the story seemed pretty inconsequential. The main focus here is really on Kevin Thorn, the Literals, and Jack of Fables. This really didn't work for me as I can't help but find Jack to be an utterly unlikable character. The character of Kevin Thorn was really underwhelming for me as well. I understand his point is to be a metaphor for the role of a writer of a story, but he doesn't really work as a character. He's pretty much supposed to be God in the Fables Universe, but the strongest feeling he got out of me was mild annoyance. The Literals, on the other hand, are interesting and their presence even coaxed a few chuckles out of me. Unfortunately there are so many of them that they end up feeling incredibly shallow. I think they were supposed to feel shallow and two dimensional, but even if that was what the author was intending, it still didn't really work for me.
For the last part of this review, I'm going to venture into some small spoilers so skip to the end if you'd like.The part of the graphic novel that worked the least for me were the scenes with Rose Red, which actually made me a little uncomfortable. When we enter the story, Rose Red is consumed by grief. Jack, upon seeing an old girlfriend, immediately takes of his clothes and has sex with her. Rose Red, overwhelmed by the loss of Boy Blue, calls out Blue's name during sex. The local farm animals hear this and assume that it's a sign that Boy Blue has returned in Jack's body, a storyline that ends up as ridiculous as it sounds. This scene bothered me for two reasons. One is it drives home how much I dislike Jack as a character, as he's pretty much taking advantage of Rose Red in her grief. And secondly, we're supposed to find this intensely depressing moment to be funny because of the farm animal's folly. I'm sorry, I know that Rose Red has not always been the most likable Fable but this feels incredibly cruel to me.
Final Thoughts: Perhaps I haven't been in love with every one shot found in the Fables comics but up until now I have been satisfied with every graphic novel on one level or another. This is far from the case with The Great Fables Crossover, which completely ignores the exciting events raised in The Dark Ages in favor for a pointless crossover starring an uninteresting villain. The majority of the jokes in this humor-focused volume fall flat, and the book''s positive elements are overwhelmed by it's negative ones, some which are almost offensively bad. The artwork is as strong as always, but the story falls short.
The Great Fables Crossover is a crossover event between Fables, Jack of Fables and a three issue mini series called The Literals. The book is very stand alone. You don't have to be fully familiar with Fables, or Jack of Fables to understand it, and it contributes very little to the current Fables storyline. I've read elsewhere that you can actually skip over this volume, and just move onto the next without really missing anything. Unless you're a completist like me, I would suggest taking that path. Despite some really nice artwork, The Great Fables Crossover never delivers on it's admittedly interesting premise.
The Great Fables Crossover abandons the dramatic, character focused storylines of Fables for a fast paced, metaficional comedy. Unfortunately, most of the jokes fall flat to me, resulting in a disappointing read. I feel like there were a lot of things that I should have enjoyed about this graphic novel but they never really came together in a satisfying way. For example, it was nice to see Snow and Bigby leave the cubs at home and throw themselves back into the action for a little while, but their presence in the story seemed pretty inconsequential. The main focus here is really on Kevin Thorn, the Literals, and Jack of Fables. This really didn't work for me as I can't help but find Jack to be an utterly unlikable character. The character of Kevin Thorn was really underwhelming for me as well. I understand his point is to be a metaphor for the role of a writer of a story, but he doesn't really work as a character. He's pretty much supposed to be God in the Fables Universe, but the strongest feeling he got out of me was mild annoyance. The Literals, on the other hand, are interesting and their presence even coaxed a few chuckles out of me. Unfortunately there are so many of them that they end up feeling incredibly shallow. I think they were supposed to feel shallow and two dimensional, but even if that was what the author was intending, it still didn't really work for me.
For the last part of this review, I'm going to venture into some small spoilers so skip to the end if you'd like.The part of the graphic novel that worked the least for me were the scenes with Rose Red, which actually made me a little uncomfortable. When we enter the story, Rose Red is consumed by grief. Jack, upon seeing an old girlfriend, immediately takes of his clothes and has sex with her. Rose Red, overwhelmed by the loss of Boy Blue, calls out Blue's name during sex. The local farm animals hear this and assume that it's a sign that Boy Blue has returned in Jack's body, a storyline that ends up as ridiculous as it sounds. This scene bothered me for two reasons. One is it drives home how much I dislike Jack as a character, as he's pretty much taking advantage of Rose Red in her grief. And secondly, we're supposed to find this intensely depressing moment to be funny because of the farm animal's folly. I'm sorry, I know that Rose Red has not always been the most likable Fable but this feels incredibly cruel to me.
Final Thoughts: Perhaps I haven't been in love with every one shot found in the Fables comics but up until now I have been satisfied with every graphic novel on one level or another. This is far from the case with The Great Fables Crossover, which completely ignores the exciting events raised in The Dark Ages in favor for a pointless crossover starring an uninteresting villain. The majority of the jokes in this humor-focused volume fall flat, and the book''s positive elements are overwhelmed by it's negative ones, some which are almost offensively bad. The artwork is as strong as always, but the story falls short.
Jack Horner was exiled from the Fables community ages ago and soon began appearing in his own spin off series Jack of Fables (which I haven't read). This volume shows the crossover of the Fables series and the Jack of Fables and I was kind of meh about it. The story was too wacky to me (though seeing Bigby as a cute, pissed off little girl was priceless) and I wasn't in love with much of the art. Also, Jack is such an epic douche that I had a hard time reading any scene in which he appeared. If this is what the Jack of Fables series is like, then I have no interest in it.
I liked this one a lot more than I anticipated! Jack is still infuriating, but he's not in it too much for it being a crossover with him. I liked the ideas of genre/literary devices personified, and the exploration of creation and free will and where the line is. The only bad part is that the story begun in vol 12 comes to an utter standstill during vol 13, which doesn't make much sense.
Blegh. Waste of time. No where NEAR as good as the real Fables volumes. I absolutely loathe Jack, and I can't stand what they did to my poor Bigby!
Oooh boy. This is a weird one. Jack and the Literals spill into the Farm, just as the Fabletown residents have been forced out by Dark problems of their own. So who comes first, the Literals or the Dark One? Well, perhaps the one that, with a stroke of the pen, can change the very nature of reality...
It's a crazy story, but a bit weaker than many of the Fables stories so far. I like either plot well enough, but combining the two feels weirder than I'd hoped. It is interesting to see how the cult of Boy Blue continues to take form. I'm not sure where that will end up going in the long run, but I expect... not well.
Spoilers and many many pictures:
The rise of the cult of Boy Blue. Clara is pretty insightful in this case.
Oh... this plot line. I get it, it's establishing that Jack is kind of scummy. But still.
Perhaps one of the better Blue Ox scenes so far. I don't know what's going on... but that's mostly the case with these interludes.
Oh Gary. You're so very weird. Fun though.
The meta plot is getting so very weird. And really does hit the nail on the head a bit. Sheriff Wolf? Fables in New York? Geppetto as the bad guy? Madness! But the best kinds.
I wonder if this is true or if they're just like Fables, that it just takes corresponding more to kill them.
That is all.
Sam to save the day! Yay!
Well. I guess that's one way to deal with Writer's Block. Unfortunately for the rest of us, it's not quite so literal.
So... meet the new Jack, hopefully better liked than the old Jack? And what about John? Weird, but it has potential. Also, what's with his eyes...
Usually not quite so Literally though. :D
Well how's that for an ending... It works though.
It's a crazy story, but a bit weaker than many of the Fables stories so far. I like either plot well enough, but combining the two feels weirder than I'd hoped. It is interesting to see how the cult of Boy Blue continues to take form. I'm not sure where that will end up going in the long run, but I expect... not well.
Spoilers and many many pictures:
The rise of the cult of Boy Blue. Clara is pretty insightful in this case.
Oh... this plot line. I get it, it's establishing that Jack is kind of scummy. But still.
Perhaps one of the better Blue Ox scenes so far. I don't know what's going on... but that's mostly the case with these interludes.
Oh Gary. You're so very weird. Fun though.
The meta plot is getting so very weird. And really does hit the nail on the head a bit. Sheriff Wolf? Fables in New York? Geppetto as the bad guy? Madness! But the best kinds.
I wonder if this is true or if they're just like Fables, that it just takes corresponding more to kill them.
Fresh unicorn roast
That is all.
Sam to save the day! Yay!
Well. I guess that's one way to deal with Writer's Block. Unfortunately for the rest of us, it's not quite so literal.
So... meet the new Jack, hopefully better liked than the old Jack? And what about John? Weird, but it has potential. Also, what's with his eyes...
Kill your darlings
Usually not quite so Literally though. :D
Well how's that for an ending... It works though.
I just don't really like Jack. He's fine as a side character, but he's utterly boring as a main character.
I usually love Fables, and I absolutely loved "Peter and Max." But like other readers have mentioned, there's a reason why I stopped reading "Jack of Fables" - so to see it absorb the story so much without necessarily knowing much of the backstory was a little frustrating.
I surprised myself with how much I disliked this particular collection - I kept waiting for the action to get back to something interesting. Similarly, I couldn't muster any enthusiasm for Kevin Thorn or any of the Literals. I felt that the volume was far too self-referential and it also seemed to pat itself on the back way more than any of the previous issues. There were moments where I would simply think, "Gosh, they must be really proud of themselves right now."
Primarily, I felt so distanced from the story that I just couldn't really immerse myself into it like I can with all the other Fable volumes. I'm looking very much forward to when the story returns to the Fable characters and leaves Jack and company behind.
I surprised myself with how much I disliked this particular collection - I kept waiting for the action to get back to something interesting. Similarly, I couldn't muster any enthusiasm for Kevin Thorn or any of the Literals. I felt that the volume was far too self-referential and it also seemed to pat itself on the back way more than any of the previous issues. There were moments where I would simply think, "Gosh, they must be really proud of themselves right now."
Primarily, I felt so distanced from the story that I just couldn't really immerse myself into it like I can with all the other Fable volumes. I'm looking very much forward to when the story returns to the Fable characters and leaves Jack and company behind.
I enjoyed the meshing of the two stories, but I will say that if you haven't read any of the Jack of Fables stories, then there are quite a few things that don't really make sense.
The genres are hilarious and the stuff with Bigby so ridiculously funny. Definitely enjoyed the tale.
The genres are hilarious and the stuff with Bigby so ridiculously funny. Definitely enjoyed the tale.
Not so good. Kind of bad, actually.
Have I mentioned I can't stand Jack?
Have I mentioned I can't stand Jack?
Was fun to see all a lot of the different characters interact with each other, some again, some for the first time. Really made me truly realize how much I hate Jack, though, if the last couple books hadn't already done that.
Also,
[On the second page of Babe's inner dialogue...]
"Huh. That's weird. Usually they only give me one page.
"One page, quick and dirty. That's my idiom. That's my 'thing.' Just between us, one-page gags are the only thing I really know how to do."
[Beat.]
"So. This is awkward."
[Beat.]
[Babe leaves the frame.]
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Also,
[On the second page of Babe's inner dialogue...]
"Huh. That's weird. Usually they only give me one page.
"One page, quick and dirty. That's my idiom. That's my 'thing.' Just between us, one-page gags are the only thing I really know how to do."
[Beat.]
"So. This is awkward."
[Beat.]
[Babe leaves the frame.]
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D